Hermetically sealed package



March 27, 1945. H. A. RoHDlN *2,372,452

HERMETICALLY SEALED PACKAGE 1 Filed Feb.`12, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mwardohdin,

March '27, 1'.-`!45v H. A. ROHDlN 2,3729452 HERMETICALLY SEALED PACKAGE Filed Feb. 12, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i@ Hw A 62 .500 Howardohdan,

' HERMET'ICALLY SEALED ACKAGE Filed Feb. 1ra. 194s s sheets-sheet s 502 Eig 1o..

Patented Mar. 27, 1945 `lulti'rlszp l's'rAma rmmimricA'LLr SEALED PACKAGE Howard A. Rohdin, Glen lRidge, N. J.

Application February 'l Claims.

It is an object of this invention to provide a package particularly adapted to hold liquids; It is a further object of this invention to provide a package comprising a relatively rigid 'outer con` tainer with a flexible, impervious lining. It is a further object of this invention to'provide a package in which the exible, impervious lining may be heat sealed with maximum facility and eiiiciency and in which the flexible liner is protected against damage due. to the weight and pressure of the 'co tents. These and other objects will be made clear in the following detailed description taken in connection with the annexed drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the preferred method of heat sealing the mouth of the liner when in a rectangular container;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the same operation performed on a cylindrical container; 1

Fig. 3 is la plan view of a blank as initially cut and scored suitablefor one form of Athis invention; y

Fig. 4 is a view similar to' Fig. 3 showing'completion of the primary folding'steps preparatory to formation of the blank into a carton;

Fig. 5 is aplan view of a carton and liner, the carton being formed from the blank of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a' view smilar'to Fig. 6 but showing the parts in nnal closed position;

Fig.'8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is an exterior perspective view showing the application of this invention to a large wooden case;

Flg. 11 is a section on the line I I-ll of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the container of Fig. 9 in position for discharge of the contents;

Fig. 12-A is a perspective view of the inserted relieving member; Y

Fig. 13' is a sectional view similar to Fig. 7 but illustrating an alternating construction;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but illustratingda diierentmethod of formation of the blank; an

Fig. 15 is a view f construction of the blank.

wooden containers for the relatively more expensive metal and glass container many years. The primary difficulty which has retarded and largely prevented the successful commercial accomplishment of this substitution lies in the fact that most of the wooden or paper containers devised as substitutes, if mechanically successful, were ofthe rigid non-collapsible type, which type fails in point of economics to realize similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating i y still another form o The substitution of papercontainers or even of.

s is a problem which has occupied many inventors for a great A 12, 1943, serial' No. 415,642

the full benefit of when.` the package re-usable metal vor `ample, as thelsteel such competition the paper sentially a single-use container, must have a total selling cost less than the net cost per trip of the steel or glass container and, depending on the class of work in which the substitution is to be 10 made, this may impose a severe limitation of cost on the paper or wooden substitute.

- The feature of collapsiblty, so far as commercialization is concerned, will tip the scales heavily in favor of the paper substitute, since coliapsibility very sharply decreases the cost of inbound freight and storage. It is not a complete answer to attempt to manufacture the containers at the time and place of use. In the first place, the user is called upon to make a very substantial investment in manufacturing ond place, he is lrequired to employ high priced 'supervision unless he is willing to face an exorbitant percentage of defective packages. These two requirements, capital investment and supervision, make the manufacture of the containers by the user impracticable and undesirable, except for a few very large users. l The present invention provides, for the first time, a paper or wooden package for liquids which is collapsible and,

many trips, and which'has, for all practicalpurposes, no upper limit of capacity. Naturally, as

the substitution, particularly glass container such, for exdrum or the milk bottle. .In

substitute, being esthe capacity increases the mechanical details of the structurey are somewhat altered and the choice of materials differs, but the same principles are utilized in all-types and sizes.

The prior art recognizes the principle of a reln atively rigid outer container supplying mechanical strength. and in to contribute the art further recognizes that in such case the external dimensions of the liner should, in all directions, exceed the corresponding internal dimensions of the outer container so filled, tension due 'to the hydrostatic load is removed from the liner and transferred entirely to the relatively rigid outer container.

Most of the flexible impe able for use as liners are capable of heat sealing and the heat seal is an obviously advantageous way of closing such liners. The exigencies of the heat sealing operation, however, enforce certain structural characteristics upon the package, lwhich structural particularly susceptible to damage, with consequent leakage, and itis the primary object of this invention to provide means for relieving and protecting such areas. At this point it must be emphasized that while 60 thereis no great dimculty in producing a single is intended to compete with a equipment. In the sec-r if made of wood, re-usable for a flexible, impervious liner thereliquid-proof characteristics, andv4 that, when I rvmus materials suitcharacteristics produce areas the percentage of perfectpackage of almost any design it is absolutely impossible consecutively to'produce 10,000.- 000 perfect packages, regardless of design or choice of materials, and itis the nature of the packagingbuslness to use hundreds of millions of any particular type. In these huge quantities there will'always be a certain percentage defective and all that improved design, materials and manufacturing methods can accomplish is to decrease this percentage. The present invention, by sharply lowering, even though not entirely eliminating, the possibility ofdamage, will decrease defective packages and is, therefore, a substantial contribution to the art.

Referring now to Fig. 1, I show a liner lil placed in a rectangular carton I2 having conventional closure flaps i4, I5, il and 2l. After filling, the

portion of the liner projecting above the extremity of the carton is drawn out to bring opposed walls into a single plane to form a iin 22 and this 35. The-fin 34 is sealed in precisely the manner of ,the fin 22 illustrated in Fig. 1 and the ears 35 and 35 are similarly disposed. As used throughout this specification and in the subioined claims, the term ears has reference to such ears as 2l and 25 of Fig. 1 or I5 and 35 of Fig. 2. 'I'he type of closure involving the formation of ann such as 22 of Fig. l or 34 of Fig. 2 is,the most eifective form oi' closure where heat sealing is involved. since diiferential thic nesses tovbe subjected to heat and pressure are `minimized in this form ltion of 'such dinerential thicknesses minimizes the opportunity for the formation of leaks. A

peculiarly suitable for this purpose of closure and the reducbag or liner .is illustrated -in my application, Ser. No. 419,628,

. filed November 18. 1941, though, obviously, other forms of bags or liners can be used in connection with the present invention.

The ears illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 contain the most severe creasing to which the iiexible liner is ordinarily subjected and it is within the area of the ears that leaks are' most likely to occur, due to the application of external pressures. The'present invention is viding means for relieving the ears. so far as possible, from the application of external pressure. thereby minimizing the formation of sharply definedcreases with consequent relief of the material of the liner. from such extreme deflections as would be likely to generate microscopic leakage passages. External pressure need not originate outside the' outer container.l The weight of the contents pressing the ears against the walls or the closure flaps of the outer container will exert .a severe creasing pressure upon the ears unless 4the present invention be resorted to.

' As previouslynoted, this invention is applicable to containersheovering a wide range of capacities and while the proportions. and the selection of Vmaterials and, to some extent. 'the mechanical structure. are dependent upon the capacity, the fundamental principle is identical in 'all capacities. The flexible liner may be made of substanprimarily concerned with pro-` tially the same material, regardless of capacity.v

andthe closure of such liner will always be of the same type.A For the outer container, however, Whether of circular or rectangular cross-section. the choice of material and the details of construction do vary. Up to two quarts capacity I recommend an outer container of the folding box type formed from board of 20 to 30 points caliper, preferably Fourdrinier kraft. From two quarts to ve gallons I recommend that the outer container be formed of corrugated board and that the means for relieving the ears hereinafter to be described in detail be formed as for the smaller size. vFrom iin is subjected toi heat and pressure to eect a ive gallons to ten gallons capacity I recommend the use of an outer container formed of corrugated board but with the relieving means formed of wood, and forcapacities in excess of ten lgallons I recommend the use of a wooden outer container with the relieving means also formedof wood.

It will be obvious to anyone skilled in the art that the principles hereinafter disclosed would be,

container is itself wholly impervious, as when l formed of metal or vitreous material, there will be no reason for utilization of the principle unless collapsibility is desired and' I have not, therefore. included herein a detailed disclosure of the application of the principle to metal or vitreous outer containers. l l

Referring'now to Fig. 3, I show the upper half of abox blank 50 in its original flattened condition. wall 54 and side walls indicated respectively as 56 and 58. In addition, there isprovided a sealing strip G adjacent 'one edge of the front wall 52. It is to be understood in connection with the following description of the closure flaps that the flaps at the opposite end of the carton would be the same (functionally, at least) as those shown in Fig. 3. y

'I'he front wall 52 has at its upper end a closure flap 62 equal in width to the width of the side walls 56 and 58. At the upper edge of the iiap 62 is an auxiliary viap 54 for a purpose presently to be described. At the upper end of the rear wall 5I there is la closure flap 55 which has a score line 65 running its entire length. At the upper end of the flap 55 is an auxiliary flap 10 dened by a score line 12. It is to be noted that while the flap 52 on the front wall 52 has a length almost exactly equal to the width of the front wall 52, the flap 55 is perceptibly shorter than the width .of the rea'r wall 5I so as to provide clearance between the extremities side walls 55l and 55. The width of the flap 65 from a score line 14 (defining the upper extremity of rear wall 54) to score line 12 is greater than the width of the side walls 55 and 55 but its width between score lines 55 and 12 is almost exactly vequal tothe width of the side walls. The distance between the intermediate scoreline 58 and the lowermost score line 'I4 ,is preferably approximately equal tothe thickness of the stock from which the carton isformed. Itis to be noted that the corners of the auxiliary iiap 10 have been 'cut oil' along lines 1I running at 45 to the horl- The blank comprises a front wall 52, a rear of the flap 55 and the v l At the upper end of the `side wall 55 is a clovcontainer were is an auxiliary ilap 18.

Y side of the closure iiap the ears |02 and |04.

sure nap 16 and at the upper end of the nap 16 The length ofthe ap 16 is almost exactly equal to thewidthof the side wall 56. The auxiliary flap 18 is, in effect a triangular tab having one leg formed by a score line 82 which defines the aps'18 and 16,`the other leg being a prolongation of the edge of the flap 16 adjacent the rear wall closure ilap 66, the hypotenuse 60 flying at 45 to the score line 82, and the altitude of the .triangular tab 18 being equal to the width of the iiap 16 between vlines 82 and 62. y

' At the upper end of the side wall- 68 is a flap 84 identical with the ap 16 attached to the side wall 56 and at the end of theiiap 64, defined by a score line 86, is an auxiliary flap 68 which has been cut away along a 45 line 80 so that, in eiect, the auxiliary flap 88 is a trlangular'tab identical with the auxiliary flap 18 attached to In Fig. 4, auxiliary-flap 10 has been folded upon and secured to the rear side of closure flap 66 attached =to the rear wall 54. The auxiliary iiap 64 has beenfolded upon and secured to the front 62 attached to the front wall 52, auxiliary flap 18l has been folded upon and secured to the front side of closure flap 16 (attached to side wall 56); while auxiliary flap 88 has been folded upon and secured to the front side of closure flap 64 (attached to side wall 58). The carton is now in condition to be set up to a rectangular cross-section.

' When the carton has been set upto its normal rectangular configuration a flexible walled liner is inserted and after filling is closed in the manner illustrated with respect tothe liner I0 in Fig. l. This forms ears |02 and |04. The rst step in closing the cartonvis, with the liner ears |02 and |04lying outside the cross-section of the carton, to fold inwardly'the rear wall closure ap 88. This fold occurs primarily along the score line 14 and secondarily along the score line 68 with the result (as shown in Fig. 6) that the closure ap 66 lies below .the edges of the carton walls by an amount distance between the score lines 68 and 14. In this condition the auxiliary nap 10 of the closure flap 66 lies on top of the ap 66. The ears |02 and |04 protrude through the clearances provided by the shortened length of the iiap 66 and are folded into the cross-section of the'carton and against the flap 66. The 45 cut offs 1| at the corners of auxiliary ap 10 provide clearance 4for flap 84 attached to lside wall 66 has been folded to overlie the ear |02. The edge 80 of the auxiliary Vflap 88 clears the 45 fold line of 'ear |02 opposite to the line of ear |02 cleared by the respective edge 1| of the flap 10. Edges 1| and 80, therefore, rdefine a triangular pocket-to receive ear |02 and prevent the application of a pinching between flaps 66 and 84.

In Fig. 5- closure This is shown. in crosssection, in gFig. 8. Q For purposes of illustration flap 16, as' shown in Fig. 5, is not yet folded upon ear |04 but the edge 80 ofl its auxiliary flap 18 will cooperate with the opposite edge 1| of auxiliary flap to provide a similar clearance or pocket. The closure is completed (as shown'in Fig. '1) by folding upon the front wall closing ilap 62, of which the auxiliary ilap 64 acts to compensate for' thediil'erential thickness occasioned lby tl'ie'auxiii'arynap 10,- the extremities of auxiliary iiap 64 falling short of the extremities of closurel flap 62 by an amount equal, at each end, to the width of flaps 16 and 84. This the ila-p 16.

approximately equal to thev or creasingk force operating f cured a pair of the flaps 66, 16, and 64,

' accommodate the hingeaction.

yof corner members 208.. As shown,

.groove joints 2|0. This structure is 'between the top 2|4 and effect is best observed in Fig. 7. Thev various flaps may be held in position by suitably applied adhesive spots or bars or the carton may be closed by having a strip of gummed tape folded across the closure flap 62 and secured to the front and rear walls 52 and' 54. The precise method of closure is immaterial and, no doubt, vother closure means will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to view of a container the heaviest duty. of wood and comprises side 204 and rear panel 206. box these panels are joined together by means particularly in Fig. 12, the corner members 208 engage their respective panels by means of slidable tongue and illustrated purely in the interest of simplicity. The essential feature is that the outer container be capable of erection into a rigid rectangular cross-section, and of being disassembled and flattened -for return shipment. The precise structure-permitting these two conditions is wholly immaterial. The box has a rigid bottom 2|2' and a two-part top 2|4 of which the rear half 2|6 is hingedly connected with the front half 2|8. The top 2I4,and the bottom 2|2 are secured around their entire periphery by means of suitable screws, bolts or other fasteners 220. The`front wall 204 has cut therein a pocket 222 adapted to receive a lip 22.4 attached tothe outer edge of the front half 2|8 of the top 2 I 4.` y'

The side walls 202 have, at top and bottom, recesses 224' which receive and support an insert member 226 at the top and a generally similar insert member 228'at the bottom. The bottom insert member 22|!l is in all respects identical with the top insert member 226. ,except` for the temporary sealing feature presently to be described. Detailed description of the insert members will, therefore, be confined to the top member 226.

As shown in Fig. 12a, the member 226 comprises a base piece 228 on which are mounted and setriangular member 23|. The apices of the triangular members 23| face each other and their bases are respectively flush with the side edges 23|' ofthe base member 22.8. Obviously, members 23| could be made integral with the member 228 if desired. The legs 282 of the triangular members 23| extend at an angle of 45 to the side edges 23|'. of the bottom member Fig. 9, I show a perspective 200 of the type adapted for panels 202, front panel 228. .The remaining edges 234 of the bottom provide a substantial clearance. At the same ltime, the triangular members 28| arein'contact with the top 2 |4-thus providing areas of clearance bers 26| on the base 228 is a matter'of convenangular members would have When a liner '300 is inserted 200' and closed in the manner illustrated in Fig. l, ears 302 are formed whichv are folded inwardly The container 200 is made At the corners of the the walls of the recesses the bottom member 228. It is`clear that mounting the triangular memthe top 2|4, thetrito be bisectedgtoA into the container into the cross-section of the container as i1lus' trated in Fig. 5. In -the form illustrated in Figs. 9 through 12-A, inclusiv through the clearance (Fig. 10) between the rounded edges 234 of the bottom member 229 and lie in the triangular pockets deilned by the members 23|, the bottom member 229 and the top 2|4. Theears thusare shielded against any application of external creasing or cutting lpressure. In use, the front half 2|8 oi the top 2|4 may be swung back- (Fig. 12) and the ear underlying this half may have its extremity cut or torn off to provide a pouring spout. For this purpose the opening 222 facilitates pouring. When only a portion ofthe contents is to be used at any one time, the insert member 229 may be provided with a soft pad 250 suitably secured thereto. 'I'he front half 2|8 of the top 2|'4 will then have mounted thereon a rigid rod 25| in positionv to engage and press upon the soft member 250. After each pouring operation these ears protrude' the ear is folded back into its pocket and overlies the member 250. Front half 2|8 of the top 2|4 is then lowered into the position shown in Fig. 9 which brings the member 25| sure contact with soft member 250, compressing the ear between members and 250 and sealing the same. This is particularly desirable when the contents isvolatile.

Itis to be understood that except for the member 250 with the top insert 226. It is also to be noted that the recesses 228 against vertical shifting act through members 226 and 228 to prevent shifting of the liner within the Vcontainer 200 during shipping and handling operations.

The essential feature of this invention is to provide means for relieving the ears formed in the liner during closure from the imposition of external cutting or creasing forces. 'The convenience of the closing operation indicates that it is most desirable to fold these ears into the planeof the top of the outer container. Functionally, however, eoual protection, when the ears are folded against the nuter container andare given similar protection. Fig. 13 is intended to illustrate such a disposition of the ears. In this gure I show a carton 300 having side walls and 302. A liner 303 has been closed in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 2nd the resultant` ears 30|' and 302 have respectively been folded down and against the side walls 30| and 302. Insert members 305 and sides of the 301 respectively bear upon the walls 30| and` M2 and respectively provide clearance i'or the ears 30|' and 302'. The top closure oi' the carton is formed by closure ilaps 309 and'lil respectively attachedto side walls 30| and 302,

` by rear wall closing flap 3| 2 and by front wall closing nap 3|4 superimposed upon the ilaps^309 and 3H in accordance with common practice.

the bottom insert 228 is identical4 is provided I showa carton blank 400 comprising a front wall 402, rear wall 404, a side wall 406, a second side wall 400 and a sealing strip 4|0. lThe front wall 402 has a closure ilap 402', the rear wall 404 has a closure flap 404', the side wall 406 has a closure ap 406', and the remaining side wall 408 has a. closure i'lap 408.' Secured tothe front side of the front wall closure flap 402 is an independent auxiliary member 4|2 of a width equal to one-half the width of the front wall l closing nap 402 and shorter than said flap by an amount at each end'equal to the depth of Vside` wall closing flaps 406' and 408.' Attached to the rear side oi the rear wall closing a'p, 404' is an auxiliary member 4|4 which, when secured to the flap 404', bears to that flap precisely the relationshipA that auxiliary iap 'I0 bears to the rear wall closing flap 66 in Fig. 4. A triangular member 4|6 is secured to the front side of side wall closing ap 406 and a similar triangular member 4|8 is secured to the front side of front wall closing ap 408.' The members 4|2, 4|4, 4|6 and 4|8 while occupying precisely the same relationship and discharging precisely the same functions as the corresponding auxiliary naps illustrated in Fig. 4 differ in that they are not integral extensions of the flaps to which they are 224 which secure members 228'and side wall 509. Suitably secured to f members 5| 0 and 5 In Fig. 14. I illustratea variation o! the construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The construction of Figs. 3 anda requires the use of a substantial portion of box blank material over and above that which would4 ordinarily be required for a carton of similar proportions without my inventive features. In many cases, where, for example, the quantity is an increased labor charge is permissible or' where an .expensive base material is to be used it may relatively small and he desirable to save the extra material required by the forms of Figs. 3 and 4. Insuch case resort may be had to the form of Fig. 14 in which 'This member is equal in width to `iary member 5|2, equal in attached but are separately cut out of what would otherwise be scrap material and are adhesively or otherwise secured in the positions illustrated in Fig. 14.

In Fig. 15, I illustrate a variation on the form of Fig. 14. Fig. 15 shows a carton blank 500 comprising a front wall 502, a rear wall 504, a

side Wall 506, `and another side wall 508. Attached to the front wall 502 is .a closing ilap 502' and attached to the rear wall is a closure flap 504.' A closure flap 506' is attached to side `wall 506, and a closure ap 508 isattached to the front wall member 5|0. the flap 502' closure flap 502 is an auxiliary and at each end falls short of the the flap 502 by an amount equal tothe width of the naps 506' and 508. Attached to the rear side of the rear wall closing uflap 504' is anauxillength -to the. length of the ilap 504' but in width extending only to the auxiliary score line 5|4 which has the same function as the auxiliary score line 68 of ap 66, Fig. 3. 'Iriangular'notches 5|6 are cutat each end of the auxiliary member 5|2, the inclined sides being at 45 to the score line 5| 4 and providing pockets of the type provided by triangular members 23| shown in Fig. 12. If auxiliary i2 were made as integral extensions of their respective closure iiaps, the amount .of material consumed would be even greater than that required for the vproduction of the blank illustrated in Fig. 3 and it is, therefore, recommended that members 5|0 and' 5|2 be independently formed and secured respective closure flaps. It is obvious. however, that the Job of assembling the blank of Figfrl issimpler than the job of assembling the blank of Fig. 14 and a choicebetween the two will be dictated by the exigencies of cost with respect to any individual order. When erected into rectangular configurations, both blanks will function in exactly the same manner.

'It is obvious that, ingdes'cribing articles of the sort with which this application is concerned. the exigencies of terminology require diiferentiation between the several members bythe use of such terms as front, rear and sides. As used herein extremities oi.'

to their 1 and portions of said closure passing. through said these words have no significance except to simplify the task of description. reference is made to the front side or rear side" of a panel or ilap the reference has to do merely with the particular figure of the drawings and its relationship to the observer. As used in this specification and the subjoined claims the words rigid and substantially rigid are used interchangeably; When the carton is made of wood it may, for all practical purposes, be considered thoroughly rigid. Similarly, if a circular container be formed of cardboard it, too, is rigid, at least in the sense that any pronounced deflection of the walls would occasion a permanent deformation. When, however, a rectangular carton is formed of either box board or corrugated board the walls are necessarily only substantially rigid, that is, capable of considerable deflection without permanent deformation. The term co1- lapsible as used herein means the .ability to be plane without reduced substantially to a single destruction or permanent deformation of the parts.

Many modifications on the structures herein illustrated will occur to those skilled in the art and I do not intend to be limited to the precise disclosure except as set forth in the subjoined claims which are to be .broadly construed.

What is claimed is:

1. A package comprising: a substantially rigid outer container, a closure panel therefor; a member below said closure panel; and means on the walls of said container engaging said member and holding the same in contact with said closure panel; portions of said member being of dinerential thickness to provide predetermined areas .oi clearance between said member and said closure panel the area of said member being less than the internal cross-sectional area of said outer container and said member being dimensional so as to provide access from the body of said container to said areas of clearance.

2. A package comprising: 'a substantially rigid outer container,I a closure panel therefor; a member below said closure panel; means on the walls of lsaid container engaging said member and holding the same in contact with said closure panel; and portions of said member being of differential thickness to provide A predetermined areas of clearance between said member and said closure panel; the dimensions of said member being such, relative to the dimensions oi said outer container. as to provide predetermined areas o! clearance between certain edges of said member and the walls of said outer container and the edges of said member adjacent said last named areas of clearance being rounded.

3. A package comprising: a substantially rigid outer container; a closure panel therefor; a member below said closure panel; means on the walls of said container engaging said member and holding the same in contact with said closure panel. portions of said member being o! difierential thickness clearance between said member and said closure panel, the dimensions of said. member beingl such, relative to the dimensions of said outer container as to provide predetermined areas of clearance between certain edges of said member and the walls of said outer container; a exible liner for any of said outer container. said liner having a closure;

Similarly, when to provide predetermined areas ci last named areas of lclearance and Lying within` said rst named areas of clearance.

4.- A package comprising: a substantially rigid outer container; a closure panel therefor; a member below said closure panel; means on the walls of said container engaging said member and holding the same in contact with said closure panel; portions of said member being of difierential thickness to provide predetermined areas of clearance between said member and said closure panel; the dimensions oi said member being such,

relative to the dimensions of said outer container as to provide predetermined areas of clearance .outer container; an

between certain edges of said member and the walls of said'outer container; the edges of said member adjacent said areas of clearance being rounded, a ilexible liner for said outer container; said liner having a closure; and portions of said closure passing through said last named `areas of clearance andl lying within said ilrst named areas of clearance.

therein; a closure at one end of said liner forming ears when said liner is filled or otherwise expanded; an external closure for said outer container adjacent said liner closure; and means cooperating with the external closure of said outer container to shield the exterior surface of said ears from creasing pressure, said means comprising a portion interposed between said ears and the expanded body of said liner and a second portion in contact with said external closure,said

second portion acting to space said flrstportion from said external closure and so constructed as to form open pockets bounded by said nrst portion and said external closure, said pockets receivingsaid ears and shielding the same against external creasing pressure.

6. A package comprising an cuter, substantially rigid carton having flaps at at least one end adapted to be mutually superimposed to close said carton; an impervious hner in said carton; sure at the end of said liner adjacent said ilaps, said' closure forming ears when said liner is nlled or otherwise expanded; certain of said closure flaps being adapted to lie between said ears and the-expanded body of said hner; other of said naps being adapted to overlie said ears and said first-mentioned naps; and spacing members contacting both said nrst and said second mentioned flaps to separate the same and so constructed as to provide open pockets :bounded by said naps. said pockets receiving said ears and shielding the same against external creasing pressure.

'7. A substantially rigid carton having naps at at least one end adapted to be superimposed to close said carton; spacing members connected with certain of said naps. said spacing members making contact, when the naps are folded to closing position, with both the external and internal superimposed naps so as to separate such naps.

' said spacing members being so shaped, sized and 

